"...Looks like I've arrived at Mossdeep City!"
A young male trainer wearing a red hoodie and brown shorts said as he got off the back of a Wailmer, the Pokémon he recently caught which enabled him to surf and reach the cities that are surrounded by water, including this city popular for Wailmer watching and where divers mainly resided in.
Sip Anders, a trainer who recently started his journey from his home in Lavaridge Town due to the influence from his friends, Lows, was on a non-stop mission to obtain enough badges in time for the Ever Grande League. It had only been around three months since that fateful moment, but his tireless passion and energy, owing to his work experience in the hot springs along with him cherishing the opportunity to finally achieve his dream, kept him going to the point where he had basically caught up to most of the trainers in the race, with six badges in his case.
He wanted to catch up to the friend that inspired him to make the move, and so far, he was extremely satisfied with his progress.
As usual, he first entered the Mossdeep City Gym, reading the ruleset for the Gym Challenge there. It was the same as the previous gyms, except that the match consisted of four versus four doubles battles against the twin duo, Tate and Liza. Though, they were also testing out a new format for the Mossdeep City Gym, where a limited number of trainers were given the option for a multi battle with another Trainer, on a first come first serve basis, to see whether the format would be viable for the Ever Grande League in the years to come.
Being able to pair with someone for this match would be pretty useful for me.
Since Sip was not a traditional Trainer who went through the studies in a Trainer School, he still lacked knowledge in battle strategies and other battle formats, which while made him develop his very own straightforward battling style and undergo efficient hands-on learning through each battle, meant that he needed every help possible for this new territory in the Trainer World.
In most cases, Trainers would have just opted for double battles to save the hassle, but Sip's hot springs work experience had made him bold and friendly enough to ask around nearby trainers. Unfortunately, most trainers he asked would rather just go for the traditional battle format, while the few rare ones had already found their partners to try out the new format.
He did not feel like he was in a hurry, anyway, so he was willing to wait longer for the right Trainer. To kill time, he decided to visit the Mossdeep Space Center, the building famous for successfully sending rockets to space. As he walked along the path towards his destination, he suddenly bumped into someone standing still on the path, only to realize there was a small group of men wearing shirts with the "W" sign in the middle blocking the way to the Mossdeep Space Center.
The grunt who Sip bumped into was clearly angry by the sudden intrusion, "Hey! Watch where you're going!"
"My bad," Sip lifted his hands in a mock surrender stance to calm down the opposing side, "I just wanted to visit the center!"
"This place is off limits, kid! It's… under renovation right now to improve facilities! Come back another time." The person facing Sip looked to be lacking patience to prolong the conversation.
Sip was obviously suspicious; he checked the brief schedule of the Space Center and it definitely was supposed to be open at the time with no prior announcements for such a matter. Suddenly, he remembered the shirts they were wearing being similar to the infamous Team Willpower, a villain team he learned from news and mainly, Lows mentioning his unpleasant memories with them.
He knew something fishy was definitely going on. Briefly assessing the situation, he believed it was a situation he could take care of at that time. With that mindset, he asked, "What if I don't?"
The Willpower grunt took no time to answer that question, "Then we'll have to send you off by force! Take the Trainer down, everyone!"
The group of Willpower grunts in front of him each sent out their own Pokémon, to which Sip responded by sending out one of his latest additions, Max the Flygon. The Flygon, despite being in a tense situation, seemed unfazed and eager to enter war.
"Let's do this, Max!"
It had been minutes, and although Sip's team was overall putting up a good fight against all the grunts in front of him, he could tell his Pokémon's energy was slowly depleting due to the numbers. It was either back off, or battle till the end.
For Sip, the former was never an option in his books.
"What is wrong with this guy?! He's going to take us all down at this rate!" One of the grunts said.
"We need reinforcements!" Another yelled.
…And reinforcements they came. Mainly, it was a purple-haired man arriving at the scene, with a more glamorous appearance aside from the usual Willpower shirt seen from a grunt. Sip could tell he was going to be on a different level, based on how the defeated Willpower grunts looked at him like some savior he was.
"Team Willpower Admin, Peggy. Your show is over, pathetic kiddo." Saying that, Peggy had sent out the Bug type Pokémon, Dustox in an attempt to defeat the last Pokémon standing for Sip, Bounce, who recently evolved into a Grumpig.
"Dustox, Silver Wind!" Generating powdery scales from its wings, the Dustox immediately sent them towards the Psychic type with the help of a small gust of wind.
"Dodge towards the right!" Sip tried to minimize the damage, but the Grumpig's tiredness from earlier combined with its larger size made it hard to do so, as Bounce still took some hits from the powdery scales. To make matters worse, a burst of energy surrounded the Bug and Poison type after the attack, signaling that the Silver Wind attack managed to further boost its stats as well.
However, Sip was not too worried as he continued, "Bounce, Psych Up!"
Hearing that, the Grumpig closed its eyes for a few moments before reopening them, revealing a pair of dizzy eyes. Bounce had apparently hypnotized itself as bursts of energy similar to Dustox's entered the Manipulate Pokémon's body. Sip noticed Bounce learned the move right after his evolution from a Spoink, and never really bothered about the move after learning about it, until this very moment.
After Bounce returned to its normal condition, Sip quickly followed up, "Bounce, use Psywave!"
The odd, hot energy wave seemed much more powerful due to the buff as the Dustox was not able to react in time and was hit by the super-effective attack. Aware that the situation had become probable for himself, Sip knew he needed to take every opportunity possible, "Bounce, Confuse Ray!"
As the sinister flash of light was released from the Grumpig towards Dustox, Peggy still looked relatively confident about the situation, "Dustox, Protect!"
Using its wings, Dustox quickly generated a barrier, which blocked the Confuse Ray attack from penetrating into the Poison Moth Pokémon before eventually disappearing. Sip kept on going with the aggressive approach, "Bounce, use Psybeam!"
"Dustox, break the attack using Gust!"
As Bounce fired the peculiar ray from his mouth, Dustox whipped up a strong gust of wind with its wings and launched it directly towards the Psybeam attack. However, the Psychic type move seemed more powerful than Gust as the ray broke through the wind, resulting in a super-effective hit on Bounce's opponent.
Despite Bounce showing tiredness from the long periods of battle, the situation at the time was becoming more neck-and-neck, to Sip's delight. However, a sinister smirk appeared on Peggy's face.
"Nice effort, kiddo. Playtime's over, though." Peggy commanded, "Dustox, Gust on the Trainer."
Sip realized the trouble he was in as a strong gust of wind was coming towards his way, and his efforts to outrun the attack ended up being futile as Sip lost balance from his footing and was sucked into the wind attack. He felt a surge of pain from the Gust attack before being launched towards the sky and making a bad landing onto the ground, the impact knocking out the newbie Trainer instantly. Before Bounce could check on his Trainer, a ray of red light automatically came and consumed him back to his Pokéball.
"Took this rascal long enough to go down." Peggy sneered before tossing a few Hyper Potions towards his grunts, "We still have a mission to finish. Some of you, join me into the Mossdeep Space Center and the rest of you, stay here and continue guarding."
"What about the Trainer over here, Admin Peggy?" One of the grunts asked.
Peggy was going to just let Sip be, but suddenly changed his mind last second. Peggy tossed the grunt some thick rope and replied, "For now, tie the Trainer up. We're sending him back to our Hideout later."
"Isn't that kidnapping, Admin Peggy?"
"What about it?" The Willpower Admin seemed unconcerned, "The mission we're doing right now is arguably a lot worse than this, anyway. Besides, even if this spreads out, I think the boss would actually prefer that. Now, a few of you here, get going with me."
A few grunts volunteered as the group headed towards the Mossdeep Space Center to join the Willpower firepower in their mission. As expected, that much commotion attracted a few witnesses from afar as they hurriedly walked towards the Mossdeep City Gym to report the incident to the Gym Leaders. However, Team Willpower would not care about that. They needed to get their job done for the show to go on.
Who knew what Team Willpower planned this time?
"...This seems really fitting for someone like Winona." I said as Regis and I followed through a corridor and exited the Gym building after reaching the sixth floor using the elevator. What greeted us two was a path and the stairs towards the battlefield, the area where I would be challenging Winona for my sixth badge.
"Definitely! Winona loves being in high places all the time, to feel the winds like a Bird Pokémon in the sky." Regis smiled, "Winona recently set this tradition for the Fortree City Gym, just a few months before I 'graduated' as a mentee. She wants the Trainers visiting here to prepare themselves for the flightful environment different from the other Gyms."
"I can see why." I said as we calmly walked up the stairs while having a casual chat, feeling our height above ground level steadily increasing as we successfully approached the top shortly after. What first greeted us was a strong chilly wind right at our face, something I knew I had to get used to throughout my match against Winona. Then, we saw the Gym Leader's silhouette from a distance as she gracefully landed on her side of the battlefield from the top of a small stone tower.
"Welcome to the Fortree City Gym, Lows. Let me formally introduce myself." Winona calmly said, "I am Winona, the Fortree Gym Leader. I specialize in Flying-types, and I aspire to be one with Bird Pokémon. I hope we will both enjoy a passionate battle worth showing to the skies today."
"Likewise, Winona." I smiled.
The referee did not take long before walking towards the middle of the battlefield, wearing what looked like pilot wear. In a calm demeanor, he smoothly took off his cap and started explaining the rules.
"This match will be a three on three single battles, in which the challenger has the first move as well as being able to switch his Pokémon. The winner is decided when the opponent's three Pokémon are unable to battle. Do you understand and agree with the rules, Lows from Pallet Town?"
I nodded, and the referee put his cap back on and announced, "The match between Leader Winona and Challenger Lows will now begin! Trainers, please choose your first Pokémon."
"Let's show them what we got, Ziggs!"
"Fly high, Fezā!"
My Linoone landed on our side of the battlefield while on the other side, it was revealed to be a Swellow, but the Flying type appeared fiercer than Regis' Swellow, Tsubasa. I instantly kept myself alert, knowing this would be a tough task to overcome. Shortly after the brief inspection of the situation on the other side, the referee marked the start of the match.
"Battle begin!"
"Ziggs, Swift!" The star-shaped rays were instantly released from my Normal type, which hit the Swellow just shortly after. Before the match, we had made a consensus to focus on ranged attacks, which avoided contact with these fierce Bird Pokémon who liked physical attacks using their wings.
Having Swift on Ziggs was particularly helpful, since the attack was never doomed to miss at any moment.
"No big deal, Fezā! Fight back with Wing Attack!"
As the Swellow spread its large, imposing wings wide, it flew at a scarily fast pace towards my Linoone, the target of the attack. Instantly, I commanded, "Ziggs, dodge with Dig!"
Ziggs quickly dug a deep hole on the ground below him before hopping into it, just in time before Fezā skimmed through where Ziggs was originally located and resulting in a miss, before the Swellow flew up back into the air. I heaved a sigh of relief, but also knew Dig attacks will have longer cooldowns to use in an unwise manner. Thus, I would need to assess the situation from here onwards before taking out the Dig card again.
The early game did not seem to favor the Normal and Flying type, but it showed no signs of frustration before its Trainer issued another command, "Fezā, Quick Attack!"
"Ziggs, counter head on with Headbutt!"
The Swellow was flying at an alarming speed that made it look invisible for a moment, before Fezā slammed my Linoone with its body. However, Ziggs managed to anticipate the attack properly before sticking his head out and rammed forward, colliding straight against the Normal and Flying type. Fezā flew back to its side of the battlefield, probably wishing for a better outcome than what actually happened in the latest encounter.
Winona slightly raised her eyebrows before saying, "Your Linoone's reaction speed was quite impressive compared to the few other ones who challenged my Pokémon. You must have trained him well."
However, her expression quickly turned more serious and said, "That means we would need to try harder, too! Fezā, use the sky to your advantage and attack with Wing Attack!"
The Swellow started spreading its wings before starting to hover around the air, making it hard to track its movements. Eventually, Fezā found its angle to attack before launching itself right towards Ziggs.
Thankfully, I did not lose focus throughout before quickly reacting, "Ziggs, ruin Fezā's momentum with Swift!"
As the star-shaped rays were sent towards Fezā's ways, it quickly adapted by slightly adjusting its flight direction to temporarily escape from the Swift attack. However, that also resulted in a Wing Attack that did not land as clean as Winona hoped for. Soon after hitting Ziggs with its wings, the unmissable Swift attack eventually landed on Fezā.
Seeing the Swellow started to pant a little, we felt that we had the early advantage for this first battle. However, Winona remained unfazed and issued her next command, "Bird Pokémon never stop flying until they're forced to, Lows. Fezā, use Endeavor!"
The Swellow immediately gathered all its strength before flying straight towards Ziggs, and despite Ziggs attempt to dodge the attack, Fezā was relentless before managing to push my Linoone backwards using its body. Soon enough, the attack took effect and Ziggs looked much more tired than before, panting in exhaustion.
I then remembered the move's effects of making the opponent the same health as the attacker, which I learned back in my days in Trainer School. I instantly felt a little outdone by Winona there; she had her trump card on Fezā all along.
"Fezā, finish Ziggs off with Aerial Ace!"
Crap! "Ziggs, dodge using Dig!"
The Swellow once again soared high in the sky, before diving towards Ziggs with white streaks of energy surrounding its body before temporarily disappearing in our sights. Ziggs once again prepared for his usual escape route, but due to the tiredness, was digging slower than usual.
Ziggs was about to finally hop into the hole he made as an escapade, but it was already too late, as the Swellow reappeared right in front of him before delivering its finishing blow. The slam from Fezā took Ziggs out almost instantly.
"Ziggs is unable to battle! Fezā wins!"
Losing this way obviously sucked for Ziggs, but I still thanked him for his efforts before returning him. It did not take me too long to take out my second Pokéball, knowing the show needed to go on.
"Surfer, time to battle!" My Water type starter landed on our side of the battlefield, eager to quickly avenge his best friend.
As the referee announced the start of this battle, I knew I needed to finish off Fezā as cleanly as possible, given its already weakened condition. However, Winona acted first, "Fezā, full power Quick Attack!"
I instantly commanded, "Stop Fezā with Water Gun!"
The Swellow once again flew at an invisibly fast speed towards Surfer. Even though Surfer blasted the Normal and Flying type with a forceful shot of water from his mouth, the Swallow Pokémon simply ignored the pain and kept up its speed before striking Surfer. However, that also marked Fezā reaching its limit as right after the Quick Attack, it tried flying back towards the air, only to quickly descend back to the ground, unable to move.
Even though the Swellow was finally taken out, it still managed to deal more damage to Surfer than I hoped for. All I could hope was Surfer having enough strength to keep pushing through
"Fezā is unable to battle! Surfer wins!"
Winona calmly returned her Swellow before taking out her second Pokéball, "I'm happy with what I'm seeing so far, Lows. Now, let's see if you can maintain this energy with your team! To the skies, Aozora!"
A silver-gray, avian Pokémon with a long, metallic blue neck, legs, and tail came out of the Pokéball and started flying around their side of the battlefield. My Pokédex barely detected the moving Pokémon properly before reading out its entry, [Skarmory, the Armor Bird Pokémon. After nesting in bramble bushes, the wings of its chicks grow hard from scratches by thorns.]
A Steel and Flying type Pokémon… Not a common dual-type combination, that's for sure.
"Battle begin!"
"Sorry in advance, Lows." Winona said, "Aozora, start off with Metal Sound!"
It did not take long for me to understand why Winona apologized, as a horrible sound like scraping metal instantly emitted from the Skarmory. Both Surfer and I covered our own ears to slightly reduce the impact.
That's definitely a sound I won't forget for a long time… not in a good way!
"What a horrendous sound!" Surfer cried, in agreement with my thoughts.
Before we fully recovered from the "sound pollution", Winona gave us no breathing room, "Aozora, follow up with Air Cutter!"
"Surfer, stop the attack with Water Gun!"
The Armor Bird Pokémon generated razor-like wind with its metallic wings before launching them towards my Water type starter. Surfer immediately blasted another shot of water right towards the Flying type move, but the wind cut through the Water Gun attack almost flawlessly before slashing Surfer, resulting in a critical hit.
I gritted my teeth with how bad that interaction ended up, but Winona had become more relentless with the attacks than before, "Aozora, don't give them any way to recover! Rock Slide!"
The Skarmory located itself just slightly above ground level, before forming large boulders all around it and hurling them right towards Surfer.
I was worried at first, but quickly discovered an opportunity to fight back as I commanded, "Surfer, break the boulders apart with consecutive Water Pulse attacks!"
Surfer quickly launched multiple quick, but less powerful pulsing blasts of water, aimed towards each of the large boulders mid-air. Fortunately, the Water Pulse attacks were enough to break the boulders apart, as some of the pieces actually ended up hitting the Steel and Flying type Pokémon due to the impact from the opposite direction. In the end, Surfer actually ended up more unscathed than Aozora from this Rock Slide attack.
"Let's keep at it, Surfer! Continue attacking Aozora with Water Pulse!"
The Skarmory flew around the air in an attempt to dodge the pulsing blasts of water coming its way, but struggled to do so as each attack became more precise than the previous. Surfer was reading his opponent's movements much better than at the start.
"We can't be on the passive end, Aozora! Use Fury Attack!"
"Surfer, counter with Bite!"
The Skarmory flew towards my Wartortle before jabbing him with its beak for three times. In the meantime, Surfer was not going to let himself be the only one at the receiving end, as he located what looked like Aozora's weaker spot before biting it with his sharp fangs, causing a wince of pain from the Skarmory before flying back to Winona's side. Surfer definitely appeared healthier compared to the Steel and Flying type at this point.
Winona definitely noticed the situation as well, before issuing her command, "Aozora, spread Spikes all around the battlefield!"
I knew what Spikes generally does and knew Aozora needed to be stopped, "Surfer, stop it with Water Pulse!"
The Skarmory was already in action, spinning its body rapidly as multiple metallic red spikes came out of its body and was launched towards our side of the battlefield. Surfer released a powerful pulse of water towards the vulnerable Skarmory, but its last job was done, as the spikes eventually landed and started slowly sinking into the ground. With that, Aozora took the full hit of the Water Pulse attack and crashed into the ground.
"Aozora is unable to battle! Surfer wins!"
I was relieved that the match was back within our control, but I knew the last Pokémon was always going to be the toughest. Maintaining her calm composure, she returned Aozora and took out her last Pokéball.
"No matter how badly a hurricane comes at us, we will never back down until we're able to thrive in the winds. Let's keep this graceful and passionate fiesta going until the very end!"
She threw her last Pokéball into the air and said, "Ready for takeoff, Merodī!"
The Humming Pokémon, Altaria appeared on her side of the battlefield as it spread its wings to soar in the skies. It obviously looked stronger than Regis' Kotton, fully expected for the final boss of the Fortree City Gym.
"Battle begin!"
"Surfer, use Water Pulse!"
"Merodī, dodge and use Take Down!"
Knowing who he was against, Surfer made sure to aim properly at the Altaria before releasing a quick and powerful pulsing blast of water from his mouth. However, the Altaria gracefully flew past the Water type attack, barely taking any damage before continuing its flight towards my Wartortle, then crashing into Surfer for a full-body attack. Surfer winced in serious pain upon impact before a veil of water surrounded my starter, signaling the activation of Torrent.
Aware that Surfer did not have long to battle, I needed to make things easier for my next Pokémon. Quickly, I reacted, "Surfer, use Water Gun to remove the spikes around us!"
"You're not doing that! Merodī, finish Surfer off with Aerial Ace!"
Surfer knew his time was short, and hurriedly released a stream of water from his mouth, like a powerful water hose as he controlled his attack towards the area around him. Small explosions could be seen as soon as the strong water pressure made contact with the spikes lightly buried into the ground. The Altaria flew towards Surfer with white streaks of energy surrounding it and eventually finished Surfer's day on the battlefield with a strong slash, but the Water type's final mission was accomplished.
"Surfer is unable to battle! Merodī wins!"
I thanked Surfer and returned him before taking out my last Pokéball, knowing it was all of nothing at this point.
I threw out my last Pokéball, calling out an unusual name for this situation, "Let's get it done, Woody!"
As the Grovyle landed on the battlefield, to my relief, was not affected by the spikes thanks to Surfer's efforts. I could see Winona raising her eyebrows once again, before giving an approving smile for the bold choice I had just made.
If only she knew about the conversation that led to this…
Flashback…
I broke the bad news to my Pokémon during our discussion for the final lineup, "This might be the hardest Gym Challenge for us yet. None of our team had any type advantages against Flying types."
"Ziggs and I should be obvious choices at least, right?" Surfer suggested, "Matchup wise, I think we're okay against Flying type Pokémon."
"I'm in!" Ziggs was eager to battle as usual.
"That makes two out of three, then." This was where the headache started; The remaining choice was between Woody, a Grass type Pokémon weak against Flying type attacks, Grace, a Psychic type Pokémon weak against physical attacks, which are commonly used by Flying type Pokémon, and Power, a Fighting type Pokémon who is also weak against Flying types.
"I'll sit out of this one." Woody was first to raise his hand, keeping his reason brief, "Type matchup issues."
I nodded, not intending to force Woody any further. Grace then kindly suggested, "I don't mind being chosen for this Gym Challenge. Not to discredit Power's skills, but he might struggle more with his Fighting type compared to me."
"Are you sure, Grace? Bird Pokémon are known to use physical attacks, which can be unfavorable for you."
Grace's calm demeanor seemed to feel shaken for a moment, but she quickly readjusted herself and said, "I'm aware of that, Lows. But I think this is the opportunity I can take as a learning experience for the future."
I knew behind Grace's words was her intention to be considerate for others in the team, and decided not to pry further. She had always shown unconditional care for her teammates, after all.
She really should care for herself more often, though.
I nodded, "Then, I guess the lineup will be-"
"I-I changed my mind, Lows." Woody hastily interrupted me, "I think I should be on the lineup this time."
"Eh?" I was surprised.
"...I thought it through, and feel that my speed should be capable of dodging most of Winona's Pokémon's attacks during the battle. Besides, Rock Tomb should come in handy against Bird Pokémon as well."
I obviously could tell there was a different motive behind Woody's sudden urge to volunteer, but technically, his points were valid. I also felt that a surprise pick could bring something completely new on the table for Winona, too.
"...I'll trust you on that then, Woody." I said before announcing to the team, "Our final lineup against Winona will be Surfer, Ziggs and Woody!"
As my Pokémon cheered along, I saw the Kirlia lightly nudging the Grovyle beside her, catching his attention. Then, she said with a light smile, "Thank you."
She definitely knew too.
Woody did not reply, but the slight blush on his face told the full story.
I smirked. Maybe Grace didn't need to care for herself too much just yet…
Since someone else is already doing that for her.
Back to the present…
Woody quietly analyzed his strong opponent ahead of him, knowing it would be a rough match ahead. He did not look too fazed, though. He did sign himself up for this, after all.
"Battle begin!"
"Woody, use Rock Tomb!"
The Grovyle closed his eyes as boulders formed around him, and the moment he opened his eyes, the boulders were hurled right towards the Altaria. However, the attack looked inaccurate at best, and Merodī easily used the sky to its advantage and dodged most of the boulders almost effortlessly.
It's okay. Woody's just adjusting right now.
"It's time for your final test, Lows!" Winona said, "Merodī, use Perish Song!"
Upon hearing the Gym Leader's command, the Altaria soared high into the air before humming a sinister tune for us to listen, while a trail of gold light with multicolored sparkles appeared from behind its body.
Suddenly, Woody's legs gave out for a moment, like they were no longer under his control. He almost fell onto the ground before barely managing to keep it together.
"Lows, this isn't good…" Woody said, "It feels like my energy is getting drained second by second."
I then realized Perish Song's effects, which causes any Pokémon who heard the song to gradually become weaker and eventually faint after a number of turns. That was Winona's final test for me: to fight the remainder of this battle with all we got; either one of Woody or Merodī falls first, or it will end in a draw.
I had a moment of brief eye contact with the Fortree Gym Leader, whose expression turned from calm to fierce. She truly entered battle mode for this one.
This was definitely a bigger challenge for me and Woody, with all the odds stacked against the Grass type Pokémon, but I believed in him all this time, and was not going to stop there.
The show must go on. "Woody, use Leaf Blade!"
"Merodī, counter with Take Down!"
The Altaria offered herself to Woody, but the price he had to pay was a painful full-body slam from the Flying and Dragon type Pokémon. However, Woody gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he cut through Merodī with the sharp leaves shaped like swords formed on his wrists, resulting in a critical hit. After the Leaf Blade attack, he took a step back and let out a small moan of pain.
I was worried about the Hoenn starter, but he reassured me, "Don't worry, Lows. I'm not planning to go down before Merodī anytime soon."
That was all I needed to hear.
"Merodī, Aerial Ace!"
"Woody, hold it off with Bullet Seed!"
White streaks of energy surrounded the Altaria once again as it flew towards its target. Towards the very same direction, Woody opened his mouth as a barrage of seeds were fired at the Humming Pokémon. The seeds blasted upon contact with their target, which slowed down Merodī slightly, but it still successfully slashed Woody, which dealt damage to my Grovyle.
"We're not stopping here! Merodī, use Earthquake!"
Earthquake?! "Woody, stop Merodī with Rock Tomb!"
The ground started to shake around our side of the battlefield, to which Woody tried to stop by hurling boulders towards the Altaria. This time, most of them managed to land on the more static Merodī, but it did not waver from its original goal as the shaking eventually transformed into a strong quake, as the ground Woody was standing on showed temporary cracks.
I struggled to maintain my balance as I worriedly observed Woody, who was closing his eyes and gathered all his focus and strength to endure the attack. He was not going to give up, not after getting this far.
Eventually, the earthquake subsided after what felt like forever, and Woody's legs were visibly trembling from the combination of the ground previously shaking and his piling tiredness. He was struggling to keep his stance, but was still in the game.
However, after a few moments, with both Pokémon taking a temporary break from the chaos, Woody suddenly said, "Lows… I'm sorry, but I don't think I can hold on any longer!"
With the end of that sentence, he fell onto the ground, his energy finally giving out as he panted in exhaustion.
It was not all doomsday, though. As I looked towards Winona's side of the battlefield, I saw her Altaria also slowly descended towards the ground, unable to move. The Perish Song must have taken effect on both Pokémon on the field.
The referee's announcement answered my thoughts, "Both Woody and Merodī are unable to battle! This match between Leader Winona and Challenger Lows is a draw. With that, the Gym Leader shall determine whether the challenger will be receiving the Feather Badge!"
I walked over towards Woody and patted his head, "You did well, Woody."
Winona and Merodī walked (or in Merodī's case, slowly flew) towards us as the Gym Leader said, "That was a good battle, Lows. Though, I definitely wasn't expecting to battle a Grass type for the day. Any reason behind that bold choice?"
I sheepishly smiled, "It was just some special circumstances that led to this, but I'm glad both myself and Woody trusted each other to pull through together."
"I see." Winona nodded, "I'm overall impressed by your skills and hard fought performance during our match. Although they sometimes show rawness, it was compensated by your willingness to adapt to situations and overcome problems on the spot, which modern trainers can lack nowadays. Also, just like me, it seems that you also aspire to become one with your Pokémon, which is so important in your journey to becoming a good Trainer."
"Thanks, Winona." I felt honored being praised by such a respectable individual.
"In the end…" Winona looked at me with a gracious smile, "You've met all my expectations. I can see why Regis looked up to you, and that's enough for me."
She took out a badge shaped like an upstroke wing and handed it to me, "Congratulations on the Feather Badge!"
I gratefully accepted the badge and thanked the Fortree Gym Leader. At the same time, Regis had entered our side of the battlefield, presumably after receiving permission from the referee after the match, "That was a flightful match, Lows!"
"Thanks, Regis." I smiled, "Are you going to challenge Winona soon?"
"Technically, since he was a former mentee under the Gym, and that I'm aware of his skills, he can just ask for the Feather Badge without the need to challenge me." Winona said while giving an approving pat on Regis' shoulder.
"I don't think that's the right thing to do… Not for my growth as a Trainer, anyway." Regis replied with a determined look on his face, "I want to truly show you my improvement as a Trainer and a person on the battlefield of the Gym I have always taken great pride in. I'll schedule for the Gym Challenge very soon, Winona."
"I expected no less from the best mentee of the Fortree City Gym." Winona smiled, before turning her attention back to me, "Why don't we exchange Pokégear numbers, Lows? I think it'll be helpful if you are up for a quick rematch, or even just a brief conversation in the future."
"Sure thing!" I agreed before exchanging Pokégear numbers with the Fortree Gym Leader. As we were about to finish the after-match talk and separate, Winona's Pokégear suddenly rang, which revealed to be a video call request from "Wallace".
Wallace, the Sootopolis Gym Leader?
"Apologies for the interruption, you two." Winona politely said before accepting the call request, as the Pokégear screen revealed a man of similar age as Winona, who had light blue eyes, curly teal blue hair and wore a white beret.
Wallace had a serious look on his face as he asked Winona, [Winona, have you heard of the invasion of the Mossdeep Space Center from Team Willpower by anyone yet?]
Winona raised her eyebrows in surprise, "That's the first time I've heard of such a thing."
He sighed, [I guess that's no surprise, since most from the Hoenn PLA just received the news as well.]
I felt like we should not be eavesdropping on such an important conversation between the two Gym Leaders and wanted to leave the battlefield area with Regis, but Winona signaled to us that it was fine at that time. She continued to ask, "...Does anyone know the reason behind the attack?"
[The only speculation made by the PLA so far was that the invasion by Team Willpower.. could be linked to the disappearance of Kenzaki Kagaku.] Wallace revealed a name strange to my ear.
"Kenzaki Kagaku… one of the lead developers of the Legendary Pokémon Tracker, who was currently rumored to be captured by Team Willpower." Winona summarized.
[You've done your homework.] Wallace nodded, [Team Willpower seemed to be running in circles aimlessly for the past few weeks until today, where they finally made their first big move. The PLA speculated that they managed to dig out something from Prof. Kagaku, which is crucial for the Legendary Pokémon Tracker to function properly.]
"...That means the Mossdeep Space Center had exactly what they needed." Winona said.
[Sharp as always, Winona. Tate and Liza told us that the Mossdeep Space Center had recently announced a multi-year partnership with Devon Corporation, where their first project is making special fuel for the Legendary Pokémon Tracker, using a powerful substance obtained only from space planets. Now that the cat's out of the bag, this could spell big trouble for the Hoenn region.] In contrast to Wallace's clear explanation, he had a worried look on his face.
...So that's why the Tracker wasn't working when the two Willpower members, Kyla and Stone, were using it in Granite Cave. Normal fuel won't do for the device.
[All the Hoenn Gym Leaders, along with other related individuals in the PLA will be gathering around for an emergency meeting at Lilycove City, at two in the afternoon tomorrow.]
"Got it, Wallace." Despite the huge surge of information she just received, Winona still maintained her calm composure and said, "I'll be there right on time tomorrow."
[Expected nothing less from you, as always.] Wallace smiled, [Also, there was another thing Tate and Liza added regarding the incident at Mossdeep Space Center.]
Winona gave him an approving look to continue on, before Wallace broke the news, [There was also a Trainer at the scene, who tried to stop the invasion but to no avail. To make matters worse, he was seemingly kidnapped by Team Willpower after the conclusion of their mission. I've already sent you the details of the Trainer involved.]
Winona checked her inbox and opened the latest email sent by Wallace, which showed the face and personal details of the kidnapped Trainer.
Sip Anders.
"Sip?!" I could not stop the word from coming out, before I quickly covered my mouth in a mix of shock and embarrassment. Winona noticed my obvious concern and helped me ask the Sootopolis Gym Leader, "Is there any particular reason or benefit to kidnapping that Trainer?"
[No huge lead as of now, but I assumed it to be a spontaneous warning from Team Willpower that trouble is stirring very soon. I'd say Sip just happened to be an unlucky fellow at the wrong place, wrong time.]
"I see… I think I've got enough information regarding the matter for now. Thanks, Wallace." Winona said.
[No problem, Winona. I'll see you at Lilycove tomorrow.]
As the call came to an end, Winona looked at us and said, "Unfortunately… looks like things could get chaotic soon around the Hoenn region. I hope you two are able to keep this conversation between me and Wallace a secret from the others."
"O-Of course, Winona." Regis said, temporarily escaping from the trance of digesting all this new information upon hearing his former mentor. On the other hand, I was still speechless.
"I'll have to contact the receptionist about putting a notice on the temporary closure of the Gym later." Winona said, "Anyways, you two are free to leave through the elevator any time. Lows, thanks for your time and the battle once again."
Regis nodded before he started walking towards the elevator. I was going to follow along, but there was this feeling of hesitation in my chest temporarily stopping me. It was telling me that I would regret it if I had done so instead of trying to do something regarding the situation.
I wanted to shake off the feeling and let the more qualified adults handle this matter, but then, I recalled the time I was in Trainer School, where I was the vulnerable side in a troublesome incident. At that time, no one helped. No one lent a hand. It pained me, even until today.
I can't let Sip suffer from the same feelings I had before.
And so, I decided to trust my feelings, and mustered up the courage to say, "Winona… I know this isn't my right to pry, but I would like to participate in the upcoming meeting tomorrow. I want to see what I can do."
Winona dismissed my request, "Lows, based on your reaction, Sip Anders is your good friend, isn't he? I understand that you want to help your friend out, but your suggestion is by all means, reckless. This would only make yourself involved in unwanted danger."
"I know that, Winona. But I was one of the main reasons why he started his journey as a Trainer, and I feel partially responsible for that." I rubbed the back of my head as I continued, "Besides… I had my fair share of not-so-pleasant encounters with Team Willpower myself."
I briefly told Winona what had happened throughout my journey with the villains in this story, which included the encounter in Verdanturf Town involving the parcel containing the Legendary Pokémon Tracker's blueprints, Regis and I being a part of the stopping force to Team Willpower's mission at Mt. Chimney, and the recent activities of the Willpower members, Kyla and Stone in Granite Cave. Lastly, I also briefly described the trauma I had back when I was young, which were also associated with Team Willpower's early doings.
"...I don't want my friend to suffer such trauma like mine back in the day, too." I concluded, "Besides, I definitely have some unfinished business with Team Willpower to take care of. Perhaps, when all of this is finally settled…"
I took a deep breath.
"...I can find the answers I've been searching for all this time, and let go of all the burden from these nightmares, once and for all."
Lows' Pokémon Team:
Surfer (Wartortle, Male), Jolly Nature
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Bite, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Sand Tomb
Ziggs (Linoone, Male), Naive Nature
Ability: Quick Feet
Moves: Dig, Headbutt, Swift, Facade
Grace (Kirlia, Female), Calm Nature
Ability: Synchronize
Moves: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Shadow Ball, Psybeam
Woody (Grovyle, Male), Lonely Nature
Ability: Overgrow
Moves: Pursuit, Leaf Blade, Bullet Seed, Rock Tomb
Power (Machoke, Male), Timid Nature
Ability: Guts
Moves: Fling, Scary Face, Submission, Seismic Toss